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Is there an ideal (ish) cartridge output?

I just got done building the Pearl 2 and I went back and forth with gain and impedance. Using a cart that had .15mv and another at .3mv. I also have a Sony TA-5650 V-FET that has a vfet MM phono stage that I have been curious to try out. In that curiosity, I read the specs on the phono stage and its 70db SNR, which is meh. I then thought about SNR, THD, gain, and output of phono cartridges and stages. I looked at a lot of specs of cartridges and stages over the years, and as the gain of the stage goes up, the SNR goes down, which eventually leads me to this question:

Is the ideal cartridge output 1.5-2mv? Do you then get a medium output that is the best middle ground for SNR and THD? If that could be the case (or if not if you disagree) then why isn't there more cartridges with around that output available? 
enobenetto

Showing 2 responses by chakster

chakster's avatar
chakster
6,144 posts
 
I have too many cartridges and with a proper phono stage the problem with cartridge output does not exist at all. Position of the volume control on my passive Aleph L preamp is not always the same (the power amp is Yamamoto A08S now). Everything from 0.15 to 5mV (or higher) is fine. Even lower output MC are OK. All you need is a decent phono stage (like gold note ph-10 with optional gain settings). 

Regarding MM cartridges i think 3mV is fine, there are lower output MM and higher output MM up to 9mV sometimes. Something like 3-5mV is medium. 
chakster's avatar
chakster
6,144 posts
 
We all know that most preamps sound best with the volume control fairly wide open.... So, I always look for a cartridge with output that for my typical system listening volume will keep the volume control on my preamp in a generously open (highish) range....


Do you mean an active preamp with gain ?
This problem is irrelevant for passive preamps if the rest of the components in the chain matched well.
@frogman
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